AP Seminar is the first of the two courses within the AP Capstone program through which you can earn additional college credit points that will help you get into the world’s most prestigious colleges. Although the course takes a certain amount of work to complete, the reward makes it all worth it in the end, since it will help you obtain valuable skills that will serve you on your academic path, especially if you want to become involved in various research projects further on down the road.
In today’s post, we will show you what AP Seminar is all about, list the reasons why you should care, delve into its various sections, reveal how it’s graded, as well as share some tips to help you pass.
What is AP seminar?
AP Seminar is an Advanced Placement exam that was first introduced in the year of 2014. As part of the exam, you will be tested in the following areas:
- Conducting research
- Evaluating sources
- Presenting arguments
Collaborating with your fellow students is a huge aspect of it. The exam has the following sections:
- Short-answer questions
- Essay response
- Source-based multiple-choice questions
In addition, you will be asked to complete the following performance tasks during the year:
- Team presentation
- Research-based essay and presentation
If you want to earn the AP Capstone Diploma, completing AP Seminar is one of the requirements, along with AP Research and other AP courses and exams. The course was designed to help you level up your research, critical thinking, and communication skills. The level of research involved is on par with typical college requirements and completing means you’re ready to face the kind of challenges that your college life will throw at you.
AP Seminar is not only about writing, although writing is certainly a substantial part of it; it’s also about reading comprehension and source evaluation. In fact, you will be asked to synthesize information from different sources and present compelling arguments based on it. The AP topics you’ll research are connected to real-world issues, although the AP Seminar can also be taken as a standalone course. Note that, if you want to receive the full AP Capstone Diploma, you will need to complete:
- AP Seminar
- AP Research
- 4 AP exams
In addition, you will be required to score at least 3 or higher.
AP Seminar is a part of AP Capstone
As already mentioned, AP Seminar is one of the two main puzzle pieces of AP Capstone, a program designed for those who want to secure additional college credit. These are:
- AP Seminar: consists of analyzing and evaluating sources, conducting research, and developing arguments.
- AP Research: consists of planning, designing, and conducting a year-long research project on a topic of their choosing.
At Novel Prep, we often see our students take the course in Grade 11 and AP Research in Grade 12. Since this is a 2-year program, it’s important to plan ahead and prepare accordingly. By successfully completing these, your collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills will benefit greatly. Plus, you will have a certificate demonstrating the skills you’ve acquired, which could help you secure better opportunities in life, both in terms of your academic path as well as your professional career.
AP Seminar: 6 reasons why you should care
When all is said and done, is the AP seminar worth it? To help you get a comprehensive overview of the benefits associated with taking the course, we’ve listed the main reasons why it’s very valued in the academic community:
- Get additional college credits. If you’re aiming for the most prestigious universities out there, you’re going to need all the help you can get.
- Increase your confidence. AP Seminar involves putting together a presentation, meaning you will get valuable experience in public speaking and defending your thoughts and ideas.
- Enhance your research skills. In general, research is a substantial part of the AP Seminar. You will get to analyze and evaluate various different sources, which is going to prepare you for the academic journey that lies ahead.
- Prepare yourself for college. AP Seminar tests for similar qualities and skills that universities do, so taking the course means being prepared for your future years in college.
- Hone your capacity to think critically. As part of the course, you will be tasked with having to analyze various sources, meaning you will hone your skills to scrutinize difficult texts and data. In addition, you will learn effective communication techniques, both in spoken and written form.
- Increase your intellectual curiosity. AP Seminar gives you the freedom to pick the topics you like, meaning you get an opportunity to explore your interests in an academic setting.
The philosophy behind AP Seminar
Those wondering “what is AP seminar” often question the reasons why it was introduced in the first place. In essence, it’s to foster life-long skills that will serve you both inside and outside of school. You will get an opportunity to:
- Evaluate multiple perspectives. AP Seminar teaches you a crucial principle that there are always multiple views on various real-life issues and that sometimes bias is at play, including your very own.
- Embrace intellectual curiosity. By studying real-life issues, you will develop your own point of view. The key is to learn how to look at things from multiple different perspectives, the kind of approach that’s often required to solve complex problems.
- Learn to be a team player. In school as well as in life, you will often find yourself in situations requiring you to work in a group environment. Here, communication is key.
- Understand what it takes to analyze effectively. This will teach you how not to generalize or oversimplify as well as how to formulate a constructive argument.
- Synthesize ideas. You will learn what it takes to formulate an argument that stems from ideas and what lies behind proper reasoning (hint: it’s about gathering evidence that supports your thoughts).
- Learn how to avoid plagiarism. As you’re probably well aware, plagiarism is a huge no-no in any kind of academic environment, so you will learn how to make your work original.
- Form connections between different subjects. In fact, it’s not uncommon for various different fields of study to examine the same real-world problems, and inter-disciplinary views can lead to interesting conclusions.
The 4 sections of AP Seminar
As already established, AP Seminar is a course that takes 2 semesters to complete. Officially, it’s divided into the following 4 main sections:
- Inquiry & Analysis. Analyzing and evaluating sources is a skill you need to learn in order to evaluate evidence and formulate an argument.
- Collaboration. To complete your assignments, you will learn how to operate in a team. This involves giving and receiving feedback, as well as presenting ideas and arguments
- Research. Here, you will learn how to analyze and evaluate sources, both primary and secondary, as well as how to synthesize information from them.
- Presentation. You will be required to give a presentation, which requires public speaking skills and visual aid preparation. You will also need to learn how to respond to questions.
The 2 performance tasks of the AP Seminar
The 2 performance tasks of the AP Seminar are as follows:
- Team-focused tasks. You will collaborate with a team to research a topic, prepare a report, and give a presentation. This section amounts to 20% of your score.
- Individual-focused tasks. This includes research, presentation, and essay. You will also need to pass an exam. This section amounts to 35% of your score.
How long does the AP Seminar take?
AP Seminar takes 2 semesters to complete, but that is a very general answer to the kind of question that requires further elaboration. The exam that you will be required to take at the end of the course takes about 2 hours and consists of multiple-choice questions and essay responses. To give you a more accurate idea of how long things are going to take, we’ve divided them into multiple tasks:
- Task 1: Team project and presentation. This will take roughly 1-2 months. It involves working in a team of 3-5 people to research and investigate real-world issues as well as developing an 8-minute presentation. You will also be asked questions by the teacher, so get ready to defend your viewpoints. Keep in mind that you will also need to present a 1200-word report as an individual and you will need to present the findings to your group.
- Task 2: Individual research-based essay and presentation. This should take you about a month to complete. Analyzing official study materials, you will be tasked to find connections between them and develop an argument that’s based on your findings. These source materials will be provided to you and you will need to use at least some part of them to formulate a response. Your argument needs to be 2000 words long and requires oral defense.
- Task 3: End-of-course exam. This part takes a couple of hours to complete, as it consists of 3 short questions and 1 essay question. You will be presented with one source and then asked to identify the author’s main point of view and explain the reasoning based on which they arrived at their conclusion.
Breaking down the AP Seminar score
How is the AP Seminar graded? To successfully earn your AP Capstone diploma, you will need to score at least a 3 in each of its sections. At the end, you will get a final AP Score between 1 and 5.
Keep in mind that different components of the AP Seminar carry a different weight with regard to your grade:
- Team Project and Presentation: 20%
- Individual Research-Based Essay and Presentation: 35%
- End-of-Course Exam: 45%
To get a broader picture, you should also familiarize yourself with the AP test grading scale.
AP Seminar vs. AP Research
Those looking to answer the question of what AP Seminar is likely already know it’s part of 2 sections, with AP Research being the other half of the equation. Although they have certain similarities, we’d like to highlight their key differences:
- The focus of the course. As the name implies, AP Seminar focuses more on the communicative aspects while AP Research has to do mainly with research and analysis.
- The timeline. AP Seminar gives you the essentials for conducting research that you will get a chance to refine during the AP Research phase.
- The structure of the course. AP Seminar requires you to operate both as an individual as well as within a team setting. AP Research, on the other hand, is very much based on tasks you perform as an individual.
- The components of the course. While AP Seminar consists of a collaborative project and a presentation, an individual essay and presentation, and a written examination, AP Research requires you to turn in a 4000-5000 word academic paper, followed by giving a presentation and an oral defense.
- The end goal. AP Seminar teaches you different skills that boil down to research, presentation, and research. On the other hand, AP Research has you conduct research that you execute individually.
AP Seminar: how hard is it really?
Although AP Seminar has its challenges, the overall difficulty boils down to your individual skills and interests. You will need to be able to:
- Think critically
- Research independently
- Give a presentation
- Analyze complex texts
- Construct evidence-backed arguments
- Collaborate with a team
- Present your findings in a written and oral manner
If your skills and interests align with the above, we are confident you will perform well. To get a better idea of how students performed across the years, take a look at the following data:
| Year | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2021 | 11.1% | 19.5% | 54.5% | 10.7% | 4.3% |
| 2020 | 6.4% | 14.5% | 59.7% | 17.2% | 2.3% |
| 2019 | 6.8% | 14.6% | 59.3% | 17.0% | 2.3% |
| 2018 | 7.9% | 16.7% | 57.6% | 15.4% | 2.4% |
As you can see, the vast majority of students (80-85%) tend to get a passing grade of 3 and above.
How to Perform Well in AP Seminar
Before we conclude, our team at Novel Prep would like to share some valuable tips and strategies on how to optimize your chances of getting a passing grade on the AP Seminar exam:
- Familiarize yourself with the format. Have an idea what kind of questions you’re likely to be asked and practice how long it takes for each section. You will get some much-needed practice as part of our AP Capstone program.
- Learn how to become a better writer. As the name itself suggests, writing is a substantial part of the AP Seminar. Your writing will need to be analytical, well-organized, and persuasive. Practice makes perfect, so see if you can incorporate vital drafting, outlining, revising, and editing tasks in your academic life.
- Get a better grasp on time management. Since you have other academic tasks to worry about, it’s essential to spend every hour in a productive manner. Furthermore, you should also take a look at the past AP Seminar questions to see what you can expect and roughly how long it takes to answer them.
- Hone your research skills. Get into the habit of analyzing written material, evaluating it, and drawing a conclusion. This also involves knowing how to cite your sources.
- Practice effective note-taking techniques. It’s vital to stay organized during your research, and knowing how to create an outline, summarize key points, and annotate the text will all help you along the way.
- Develop a mental fortitude. A certain amount of anxiety is to be expected as you tackle the tasks in front of you, but you must learn how to stay resilient and not let it overwhelm you.
- Pick a topic that aligns with your interests. At Novel Prep, we’ve hand-picked some topic ideas you are welcome to draw inspiration from.
- Select suitable teammates. Steer away from people who will keep the group down in any way,
- Make preparation a habit. This will help you allocate your resources properly and make progress every day.
- Participate in class. Actively engaging with your peers will enhance your understanding of the material.
- Stay open-minded. A massive part of the AP Seminar is the ability to consider and evaluate differing views, whether they align with your own or not.
Conclusion
AP Seminar will test your ability to think critically, conduct research, collaborate with your peers, and prepare a presentation. You will work both individually as well as in a team setting to communicate effectively as you present an evidence-based argument.
At the end of the day, is the AP seminar worth it?
If you want to get your foot in the door of the world’s most prestigious universities, all while honing the kind of skills that will serve you both in your academic and professional life, the answer is yes!
To make things easier for you, we invite you to check out our AP Capstone program where we’ll teach you everything you need to know to get a good grade in AP Seminar.
FAQs
Does an AP Seminar give you college credit?
Yes. A successful completion of the course will give you extra credit for college.
Is the AP Seminar individual or collaborative?
It has elements of both.
What is the general AP Seminar pass rate?
It depends on the year. Most years, it’s between 80-85%.
What skills does the AP Seminar teach you?
Among all the rest, you will get to work on your communication, collaboration, articulation, writing, research, and critical thinking skills.
Is the AP Seminar worth it?
It absolutely is if you need extra college credits. However, it does take a certain amount of work as you will need to conduct research and complete various tasks.
Is the AP Seminar difficult?
Most people would describe it as time-consuming rather than difficult.
